This invention relates to sharing online access privileges to a group of bookmarks by more than one user, and the maintenance of the bookmarks in a seamless fashion while users surf the web.
FIG. 1 portrays a prior art computer. Hardware enclosure 2 houses a display device 10. Hardware enclosure 4 houses the interfaces to the keyboard 20 and its communications physical transport 22, selector device 30 and its communication physical transport 32, a removable media site 40 and an external communications physical transport 50.
Note that in certain prior art computer systems, there is no keyboard 20. Computer systems without keyboards 20 include but are not limited to some entertainment systems, some hand held computers and some information kiosks. Note that in some prior art computer systems, there may be no support for removable media site 40. Computer systems without removable media site 40 include but are not limited to some desktop personal computers, some entertainment systems, some handheld computers and some information kiosks.
Note that in some prior art computer systems, enclosures 2 and 4 are integrated into a single mechanical component. This is most commonly seen in certain handheld computers. In certain other prior art computer systems, enclosures 2 and 4 are mechanical connected components, as in certain notebook computers. In certain prior art computer systems, there are additional enclosures. This is commonly seen with audio devices, such as speakers and microphones in some desktop computers.
FIG. 2 portrays a block diagram of a prior art computer as shown in FIG. 1. Display device 10 communicates upon display device transport mechanism 12 to display interface 14, which in turn communicates on transfer channel 16 to digital controller 70. Keyboard device 20 communicates upon keyboard device transport mechanism 22 to keyboard interface 24, which in turn communicates on transfer channel 26 to digital controller 70. Selector device 30 communicates upon selector device transport mechanism 32 to selector interface 34, which in turn communicates on transfer channel 36 to digital controller 70. Removable storage device 40 communicates upon removable storage device transport mechanism 42 to removable storage interface 44, which in turn communicates on transfer channel 46 to digital controller 70. External communication 50 communicates upon external communication transport mechanism 52 to display interface 54, which in turn communicates on transfer channel 56 to digital controller 70. Local mass storage device 60 communicates upon local mass storage device transport mechanism 62 to local mass storage interface 64, which in turn communicates on transfer channel 66 to digital controller 70.
Display device 10 includes but is not limited to flat panel displays as well as CRT displays. Note that in certain prior art computers, there may be more than one display device 10, possibly sharing a display device physical transport mechanism 12, display interface 14, or transfer channel 16.
Prior art selector device 30 includes but is not limited to mouse devices, trackball devices, pen tablet devices and pressure sensitive touch devices. Prior art mouse devices include but are not limited to wireline and wireless mouse devices capable of moving in two-dimensions and three-dimensions, possessing at least one button, including multi-media wireless control interfaces with many buttons and built-in system response indicators. Wireless selector transport mechanisms include but are no limited to acoustic, infra-red, radio frequency electromagnetic and optical physical transport layers. Prior art pen tablet devices include but are not limited to pen tablets which are integrated with the display device as well as pen tablets which are discerned separately by users. Prior art pressure sensitive touch devices include but are not limited to mouse xe2x80x9csticksxe2x80x9d, touch pads, touch sensitive display device screens. Prior art mouse xe2x80x9csticksxe2x80x9d are sometimes found integrated into the keyboard 20. Prior art touch pads are sometimes found integrated into the keyboard 20 and sometimes discernibly separated from the keyboard 20. Prior art touch sensitive display device screens integrate the pressure sensitive touch surface 30 with the display device 10.
Removable storage device 40 communicates via removable storage device transport mechanism 42 with removable storage interface 44, which in turn communicates on transfer channel 46 with digital controller 70. Removable storage device 40 includes but is not limited to removable optical disks, removable electromagnetic disks and removable electromagnetic tapes. Removable optical disks include but are not limited to CD-ROMs, CD-R disks, CD-RW disks, DVD-ROMs and DVD-RAM disks. Removable electromagnetic disks include but are not limited to floppy disks of various memory capacities in various formats, as well as higher density rigid disks. Removable electromagnetic tapes include but are not limited to cassettes and cartridges in a variety of formats including but not limited to DAT with a variety of memory capacities.
External communication physical transport 50 communicates via external communication delivery component 52 with external communication interface 54, which in turn communicates on transfer channel 56 with digital controller 70. External communication physical transport 50 includes but is not limited to wireline and wireless physical transport layers. External communication physical transport 50 wireline layers include but are not limited to wire and optical fiber transport mechanisms. Communication delivery component 52 for such prior art wireline transport mechanisms include but are not limited to electromechanical couplers, opto-mechanical couplers, opto-electrical interfaces and mechanical connectors incorporating opto-electrical interfaces. External communication interfaces 54 include but are not limited to various kinds of modems. External communication physical transport 50 wireless layers include but are not limited to electromagnetic, infra-red and optical wireless transport mechanisms. Communication delivery component 52 for such prior art wireless transport mechanisms include but are not limited to radio antennas and antenna arrays, opto-electrical transceiver interfaces, infra-red transceiver interfaces. External communication interfaces 54 include but are not limited to various kinds of modems.
Local mass storage device 60 communicates via local mass storage device transport mechanism 62 with local mass storage interface 64, which in turn communicates on transfer channel 66 with digital controller 70. Local mass storage 60 includes but is not limited to one or more electromagnetic disks and/or one or more optical disks. Local mass storage 60 includes mass storage capable of being both read and written. Local mass storage 60 may also include but is not limited to read-only disks, as well as disks which may be written once and read repeatedly.
Transfer channels 16, 26, 36, 46, 56 and 66 in certain systems may represent distinct signal paths directly interfaced to digital controller 70. In prior art certain systems, one or more of these transfer channels may be grouped into shared computer busses. By way of example, in certain systems, the display device transfer channel 16 and local mass storage transfer channel 66 may be a separate shared computer bus. In certain systems, the removable storage transfer path 46 and local mass storage transfer channel 66 may be a separate shared computer bus. In certain systems, the keyboard transfer path 26 and selector device transfer channel 36 may be a separate shared computer bus, such as USB.
Prior art digital controllers 70 often incorporate RAM as well as a digital microprocessor. Prior art digital controllers 70 often further incorporate non-volatile memory.
Relevant prior art computers are connected into networks. Within such networks, prior art computers are often designated as clients interacting with other computers known as servers. Note that a server may act as a client in relationship with another server. For example, a server may be a client of an internet domain name server. Client prior art computers are characterized as being smaller computers than servers. Servers often possess very high bandwidth external communications interfaces with very large local mass storage. A client computer may have a telephone line or T1 ethernet link to a network, whereas servers usually start with one or more T1 links, and can be found servicing gigabit ethernet external communications protocols.
Most websites are situated on servers. The core content of most small to mid-size xe2x80x9cjump-stationxe2x80x9d sites is a set of links related to the site""s theme: e.g., a site focussing on East European political news may consist largely of links to east European news sites). Similarly most personal homepages at web communities (e.g., Geocities, Xoom, AngelFire, etc.) are basically a set of links to the individual""s favorite web sites. Maintaining these sites requires adding new links regularly: webmasters, homepage owners must login or Telnet/ftp to the site to add/edit links. Being volunteers and part timers, they usually cannot dedicate a lot of time thus updating their webpage(s).
What tends to happen with personal homepages is that the owner stops updating this set of favorite links, the homepage goes stale and visitors have little reason to return to this page. Similarly in the case of small jumpstation websites, updates by the webmaster(s) often become sporadic, lessening the value to visitors.
There are many link managers available for webmasters, several of them are available as shareware downloads. However all require the webmaster to access their link site to add/edit/maintain bookmarks. The overhead of an initial elaborate setup of the links manager and of continually accessing the link site to add a new site to the bookmark link set displayed on the website is an inconvenience for the part-timers and volunteers who usually maintain such sites.
At present bookmark sets are private collections on a user""s computer with xe2x80x9cReadxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cWritexe2x80x9d privileges belonging to the owner. They are usually arranged as a set of links categorized within several folders and sub folders. Only one user, the owner, may view them, edit them or add links to them.
A method of sharing access operations of at least one bookmark node with an associated access level for each access operations by at least two identified web users. The method includes steps of allowing performance and barring performance of the access operation by an identified web user of the bookmark node. The access operations including viewing and editing the bookmark node by an identified web user. Whenever the associated access level of a first access operation allows an identified web user to perform the access operation upon the bookmark node, the first access operation of first bookmark node by first identified web user is allowed. Whenever the associated access level of the access operation bars the identified web user from performing the first access operation upon the first bookmark node the performance is barred.
Embodiments of this invention include a method providing an advantageous manner for maintaining a jumpstation website collaboratively. In certain embodiments, one or more webmasters, possibly with group access privileges may collaboratively modify the jumpstation website. In certain embodiments, public users may view the bookmarked links.
Certain further embodiments support remote management of online bookmarks. A bookmark account with an owner and online bookmark folder resides on a server. Initializing the account includes downloading a reporting mechanism. The owner triggers the reporting mechanism while using their local web-browser to add a website address link to their online bookmark folder. The reporting mechanism calls the server with the website address link. These embodiments advantageously reduce the maintenance overhead and time requirements for jumpstation sites and personal sites.
Embodiments of the invention also include a computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for sharing access operations including viewing and editing of at least one bookmark node with an associated access level for each of the access operations by at least two identified web users. The computer program includes code allowing the access operation performance and code barring the access operation performance. The code allowing performance a first access operations of a first bookmark nodes by a first identified web user is executed whenever the associated access level of the first access operation allows the identified web user to perform the first access operation upon the first bookmark node. The code barring performance of the first access operation of the first bookmark node by the first identified web user is executed whenever the associated access level of the first access operation bars the identified web user from performing the first access operation upon the first bookmark node.
Embodiments of this invention as computer programs provide an advantageous manner for maintaining a jumpstation website collaboratively. In certain embodiments of these computer programs, one or more webmasters, possibly with group access privileges may collaboratively modify the jumpstation website. In certain embodiments, public users may view the bookmarked links.
Certain further computer program embodiments support remote management of online bookmarks. A bookmark account with an owner and online bookmark folder resides on a server. The code initializing the account includes code for downloading a reporting mechanism. The owner triggers the reporting mechanism while using their local web-browser to add a website address link to their online bookmark folder. The reporting mechanism calls the server program with the website address link. These embodiments advantageously reduce the maintenance overhead and time requirements for jump-station sites and personal sites.
Embodiments of the invention further include a computer network for sharing access operations of at least one bookmark node with an associated access level for each access operation by at least two identified web users including at least one server. The server is coupled via the computer network with at least one client computer operated by the identified web users. The shared access operations include viewing and editing of at least one bookmark node with an associated access level for each of the access operations by identified web users. The server contains a computer program for sharing the access operations of bookmark nodes with associated access level for each access operations by identified web users initiated by access operation requests by the identified web users. The server allows the access operation performance of a bookmark node by an identified web user whenever the associated access operation access level allows the identified web user to perform the access operation upon the bookmark node. The server bars access operation performance of the bookmark node by the identified web user whenever the associated access operation access level bars the identified web user from performing the access operation upon the bookmark node.
Embodiments of this invention including networks with a server resident computer program provide an advantageous manner for maintaining a jumpstation website collaboratively. In certain embodiments, one or more webmasters, possibly with group access privileges may collaboratively modify the jumpstation website. In certain embodiments, public users may view the bookmarked links.
Certain further embodiments support remote management of online bookmarks. A bookmark account with an owner and online bookmark folder resides on a server. Initializing the account includes downloading a reporting mechanism. The owner triggers the reporting mechanism while using their local web-browser to add a website address link to their online bookmark folder. The reporting mechanism calls the server with the website address link. These embodiments advantageously reduce the maintenance overhead and time requirements for jump-station sites and personal sites.